Sigh....this is a perfect example of "chemical incompatibility" between original finish and the new finish. This texture is called "orange peel" texturing (so you are bang on with that) and it is a HUGE indicator that the chemicals of one (the original finish) are INCOMPATIBLE with the other (the new layer). The fact that it did it with the primer is a good indication something WEIRD is going on - chemically. Trying again with the polyurethane is a "nice" idea - but rarely works.

There are other things that can cause this, other than finishes getting upset with each other = CLEANING materials used over the last 14 years. Yes. There are cleaners (on the self, behind the counter, under the sink or in the baking pantry) that will cause this to happen as well. They can leave a residue that will prevent proper application of a new finish.

So there is a 50:50 chance this is "professional installer" created vs. homeowner created problem. I know that's not what you want to hear...so just hang on. Let me explain.

A buff and coat is a tricky concern. Even the BEST of the best have this happen...and it happens more than they like to see - which is why many professionals won't do it...because it is so tricky.

The BEST buff and coat professionals do a LOT of due diligence before they even OFFER the service...and if they do - they write a caveat stating it still might not work (which the homeowner signs before they can move forward).

Part of the homeowner interview includes: age of floor, desired results and CLEANING history. Like a "health history" that a doctor will take, the professional refinisher will ask about CLEANING history. How, what, when, how often, etc.

Some will even try a test patch with a bit of product before they take the contract. They will let it dry for several weeks and then ask about the homeowners how the patch looks.

I'm sorry this has happened. Please check your contract very carefully. You will probably find a section that deals with adhesion failures. Please read it. If they only do buff and coats then they will be very aware of the failure concerns and will have written this into the fine print.

It will take a lot of work to get these floors down the the original finish to start again. You have 2 chemicals on there (with a bevel edge there is very little chance they will get off all the finish that has been applied)...plus the unknown "problem" will still be a major concern.

Please sit down the contract and start listing any/every cleaner/bit of soap, swiffer, wetjet, mop head, etc that has ever been used on your floor (that includes Murphy's Oil soap, Dawn Dishsoap, Mr. Clean, etc). This will help the next set of professionals to decide if they wish to take on this project.

thank you for the comments! Here is where we are:

- first, I have used the usual floor cleaners (murphy, method, vinegar) but I think we can eliminate the cleaners. We had put the closet floor in only last year (leftover box of wood) - never cleaned it, just vacuumed, but we did buff/coat it and it has the same issues.

- the buff&coat company has done a nice job of trying to remedy and I have read our terms which only says that if there is an adhesion problem with their finish, they will deduct the price from the cost from a re-sand which I guess they do. They have asked to come back in 2 weeks, owner is out of town, they want to talk to their materials vendor - but my husband is done with them and has no confidence.

-just had a full service floor guy out today. He sanded by hand a corner of this floor and it came off in a "cotton" like consistency. He put it in a baggie and was going to see if anyone has seen anything like this - says he has not in 25 years. He wants screen the floors (says we have too little wood for a full sanding/staining which we really don't want to do but are not happy to hear since we were told we could do 3-4 full standings).

So we try again Monday, I guess with a new flooring company

thanks all!

Ok....so Murphy's Oil is KNOWN for causing adhesion issues. To the point where many refinishes won't TOUCH a floor that has been touched by Murphy's. So too many of the Method cleaning products. I know. They are "eco" but that doesn't make them appropriate for wood. Here's why: they use coconut oil based soap products. As well as "fragrance oils"...oils are a "no-no" in the wood finishing industry. Anything that leaves an "oil" residue (Murphy's oil, coconut oil, oil soap, oil anything).

I've seen three different "eco friendly" cleaning products cause massive issues with hardwoods and cork. Massive. To the point where the SOLID hardwoods had to be sanded down to their "last layer" before adhesion would occur. Very sad. Vinegar won't usually interfere with adhesion...but it will age a finish faster.

I have a sneaking suspicion some of this is due to residue from cleaning products. Did the refinishing company do a screening to remove the cleaning material? Did you perform a floor stripping event prior to work commencing? Use of TSP is common - did anything like that occur? Rubbing alcohol used to determine if there was any residue on the floor (not that fun to work with...but can be done in a well ventilated space)?

When it comes to construction law, the contractor has to be given the right to attempt to fix the issues before they are "made" to hand it over to someone else. They only get ONE attempt...but they are required to have the "first kick at the can".

And their option for 1/2 the price goes towards a full sand and refinish is a little above industry standard. The 'good guys' offer FULL price of the buff and coat can be put towards the cost of a full sand and refinish. The "don't give a r@t's backside" type of outfits will leave you without any options at all. So your company is sitting firmly between the two extremes.

I'm hoping that this is material based issues (the primer and the finish were defective) for your sake. But I'm thinking it is not. When a finish fails, it is possible to scrape it off with a finger nail and it comes of in white clumps (I'm not sure if this is the same as 'cottony').

And the closet, I'm going to guess, has probably been contaminated over the years simply by having things that have touched the floor then being put into the closet...like shoes, boxes, jackets, books, bags, purses, etc. If it touched your floor and then was put into the closet, it could have taken the residue in with it (in medicine we call this "cross contamination" or "touch contamination").

Good luck. At this point, you may be down to screening off the failure and then getting back to the original finish. At that point, you might need to look at the "shine" products that offer a temporary surface. They are more work. They need to be applied every 6 months. They need to be stripped every 5 applications (every 3 years) but they can offer you a few more years of 'nice looking' floors. Long enough for you to save up for your floors to be removed and replaced.

As for an engineered hardwood that can be sanded 3-4 times....that requires a wear surface of 6mm thick...or more. And 14 years ago, those floors were very rare. More often the wear layer was 2mm-3mm. Only the SUPER high end engineered had the 6mm thick wear layer.

Any updates?

WELL.....yes. First I have to say that you were probably spot on with just about everything from the poor original floor we purchased 14 years ago to the chemical problems we faced. I'm sure the buff&coat people are great doing the same thing over and over again, but they really failed us.

The flooring guy was very puzzled by what happened. Told us he could not guarantee anything, tested the closet which looked marginal. Thinks it may have been the primer they used, not sanding enough and applying the finish too thick and with a heavy paint roller. Asked we only pay him for his product and $100 labor for his assistant if we decided it wasn't going to work. I thought that was very professional and we told him to move forward.

Sanded and sanded and sanded - piles of this cotton material. Used many sanding screens. Told us this floor could not take a total refinish because - as you mentioned - not enough wear layer. He was worried about how much he sanded. Touched up some of the wood with stain. Used Bona Traffic satin waterborne. Would not take a check from me when he left - really a true professional and wasn't completely happy and wanted to see it today. Told me "I hope I didn't make it worse".

And while it is not perfect (the floors almost look a bit scarred) it is so much better than I had ever hoped for. The layer before was very thick. Filled in all of the gaps between boards (we don't have bevels). This is definitely not thick and plastic looking as before. May not last as long. We will be saving and probably have the floors replaced one day (very distant future!).

I am so grateful for your input. 14 years too late but truly thankful. Attached are 2 "after" pictures. Now I hope we don't face a battle with the buff&coat people!

Much better. And you actually have microbevels. The tiny little valleys between the planks are the bevelled edges. Your floor has a very subtle bevel. Which is why it is called a microbevel.

I'm so glad you could get this remedied. I'm going to guess this will give you another 5 years (or so). Which is enough to set up a savings plan to have a new floor as part of a renovation.

The "other guy" did a very good job with what s/he had to work with. Nice save!

Glad it worked out for you. Traffic is a fine product.

I never apply my waterborne products with a roller...never liked the orange peel effect...very difficult to get the product to flow and level.